College Football Title Odds: Ohio State Leads, Alabama And Miami Lurking, Indiana Surges. But, Vanderbilt?

The push towards this season's inaugural college football playoff rankings is upon us, with plenty of teams fighting for a chance to contend for a national championship over the next two months. 

After a monumental win over Oregon this past weekend, Indiana has surged in the betting markets, now holding the fourth-best odds to win a national title this season. Head coach Curt Cignetti has the Hoosiers rolling as we enter another monster weekend of football.

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Following the win over Oklahoma, the Texas Longhorns have also made a significant push in the sports books, reemerging from the depths of despair that came after the loss to Florida just two weeks ago. 

If we take Ohio State out of the picture, this is truly a wide open race for the on-campus games that will kick off the 2025-2026 playoff. 

So, let's take a look at where things stand in the eyes of oddsmakers for the coveted CFP trophy, according to FanDuel

Ohio State Leads, While Alabama And Miami Are Close Behind

It's business as usual for the Buckeyes, with their dominant defense leading the way and Julian Sayin continuing to have success spearheading the offense under Ryan Day. Based off their recent performances, Ohio State is the odds-on favorite to win the title. 

• Ohio State: +320
• Alabama +700
• Miami +850
• Georgia +1000
• Indiana +1000

OK, I think we can all agree that the Hoosiers' path to the postseason should be pretty easy from here on out. It's not their fault that Michigan State, UCLA, Maryland, Penn State, Wisconsin and Purdue are not ranked, so let's not hold that against them. 

But, that matchup against UCLA has become a lot more intriguing over the past two weeks, as the two teams will face off in Bloomington next week. 

As for Miami, if the Hurricanes handle business against Louisville this Friday, it should be clear sailing until the playoff. No ranked opponents, with their toughest matchup potentially being SMU in a few weeks. 

Miami: Louisville, Stanford, @ SMU, Syracuse, NC State, @ Virginia Tech, @ Pittsburgh. 

Alabama: No. 11 Tennessee, @ South Carolina, No. 10 LSU, No. 14 Oklahoma, Eastern Illinois, @ Auburn. 

Georgia: No. 5 Ole Miss, Florida, @ Mississippi State, No. 21 Texas, Charlotte, No. 12 Georgia Tech

Texas A&M, Oregon Lead The Next Batch. Hey There, Texas

Man, I'm already looking forward to the matchup between Texas A&M and Texas on the final weekend of the regular season. 

Now that Texas A&M is running on all cylinders, this would be a solid pick, if you were to bet on Mike Elko's team to make a run. 

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Oh, and just because they suffered a loss to Indiana this past weekend, don't start writing off the Oregon Ducks. They will be just fine, for now. 

As for the Longhorns, that dominating win over Oklahoma has rejuvenated the folks that are of the thinking that Steve Sarkisian has a championship caliber squad this season. Just look away from the stats Arch Manning is putting up. 

• Texas A&M +1200
• Oregon +1200
• Texas +1600
• Notre Dame +1600
• Texas Tech +1700

Texas A&M: Arkansas, @ No. 10 LSU, @ No. 16 Missouri, South Carolina, Samford, @ No. 21 Texas

Oregon: @ Rutgers, Wisconsin, @ Iowa, Minnesota, No. 20 USC, @ Washington

Texas: @ Kentucky, @ Mississippi State, No. 17 Vanderbilt, @ No. 9 Georgia, Arkansas, No. 4 Texas A&M

Notre Dame:  No. 20 USC, @ Boston College, Navy, @ Pittsburgh, Syracuse, @ Stanford

Texas Tech: @ Arizona State, Oklahoma State, @ Kansas State, No. 15 BYU, UCF, @ WVU

Longshots Worth a Look — Missouri, Tennessee Anyone?

If you're feeling lucky, or maybe just feel like taking a chance with your own money, these teams are getting some pretty good ROI if they can make a run.

• Ole Miss +2200
• Oklahoma +3000
• Missouri +3500
• LSU +4000
• Vanderbilt +6000
• USC +6000
• Tennessee +7000

Yes, Vanderbilt has better odds of winning a national championship over USC and Tennessee at this moment. I don't know how long that will last, but it's eye-opening to see.

There you go. We are entering the third week of October, and as you can tell from these odds, we are truly in for one crazy ride towards the college football playoff.